I cannot praise Linkin Park more. I began my studies about youth suicide at the University of Minnesota in January 2015, and was working on my field experience for my degree when Chester died. I’ve seen Linkin Park live multiple times over a decade, and I felt the pain. I also looked on as a new generation experienced what my generation did in 1994 with Kurt Cobain, but with trained eyes. We lost …

Sometimes you see a news headline like this: Progressive rock legend Emerson dies Then you read the news and discover it was a suicide by self-inflicted gunshot. The only reason I mention this is that I’m in a suicide awareness class right now. In two weeks, we have a discussion about how the media reports suicide. Today, we talked about suicide encounters online. The anonymity and privacy you have online sometimes lets you express …

Some people in the social work fields are known as mandated reporters. These people must pass-on information they learn if they feel there is a threat to personal life or property by a person in crisis. The line between confidentiality and mandated reporting is not clear and distinct, which adds to the complexities of knowing when you should, or should not, say something to the authorities. Is there a definite threat or plan made? …